Virgin Fest (more or less)

I suppose billing this as a review/commentary on the Virgin Festival as a whole is a bit mosleading, as through a combination of circumstance and intent I really only made it for three bands the first day. So as not to belabour things, a quick rundown of what I did catch:

Arctic Monkeys: If this is how they've been playing the whole time, it makes sense why they got as hot as they are. Straight-ahead, high-energy, good, fun rock.

Interpol: Is it them or is it me? Interpol has always been cleanly efficient in their performances, but now it just feels mechanical: enter stage, play note-perfect recreations of the songs as they sound on the albums, exit stage. But the crowd seemed to dig it, so take that for what you will. That having been said, hearing "Slow Hands" was pretty exciting.

Björk: You know those books listing various things a person should do before they die? Seeing Björk live should be in every one. With a set culled mainly from Post, Homogenic, and Volta, with the stars overhead and the open air, it was beyond words. Certain people have that ability to take a performance and make it something more, and that's exactly what she did.

In other news, a couple of native groups worth mentioning: Cities In Dust (okay, technically they're from Hamilton, but close enough, right?), who do the hyper, post-punk thing well enough to remind you why it was cool in the first place, and Slap [Unmodified], the project of one Thomas Sinclair, a nice bit of retro-inspired electronic work. To give you an idea of where he's coming from, the Slap Myspace page features a cover of Vangelis' end credits music from Blade Runner. Good work all around.

finally, the long-promised show reviews

I have to say, this was a completely mind-blowing weekend - how often does one get to experience so much good music in a row? What follows is my attempt to convey the sheer awesomeness of it all, a task almost instantly doomed to failure. But here goes anyway:

Saturday, May 12: Mando Diao/Pop Levi/The Films at the Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto

First up was The Films. For an American band, they have a very Brit vibe to them, all jangly rock which one wouldn’t be worng to say has a certain Ferdinandian Mokeys quiality to it. That said, it’s not bad, and rather well put together. As for their performance, they did well in the thankless slot of First Opening Band. And apparently their lead singer is possessed of an innate and undeniable charisma, as during the first song, when he chided the audience to come up close and fill the vacant front-of-stage floor area, they actually did, and in droves. Now that’s a rock star.

Pop Levi came next. They came out and began with an extended intro to the new album opener, “Sugar Assault Me Now.” It was kind of a cool idea, but after a couple of minutes, it felt like time for the song to actually begin. The band were on, and sounded pretty much just like on disc, which could be good or bad depending on one’s outlook. The upshot was the almost parodic point after the first song where Levi kept asking the sound guy for more reverb on the vocals. “More reverb. Mo-orrre reeverbbb. Mooorrre rrreevveeerrbb.” Still, good fun.

Then Mando Diao came out, and everyone in the place met their new favourite band. From the first note it was all systems go!, and the band didn’t pause for a second. The band was giving everything, were blood-brother tight, and energetic like an ADD-addled ten year old on a sugar buzz. And the audience was giving back as good as they got, waving hands, dancing, totally into it. It was one of those perfect rock and roll moments that you wish could happen at every show.

Sunday, May 13: Lisa Gerrard at the Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
A better writer could give you all kinds of details about the show: the intimacy of the venue (roughly 1,100 person capacity), the minimal stage set up (white cloth draped in the back, piano and keyboard behind Lisa), or technical details about the performance (her range, pitch control, etc.). And I’m sure if you do a search, you’ll find that better review (and if you do, send a link). However, all I can say is this: I’ve only been to two shows that have had an almost transcendant quality to them, where the music just took over. This was the second (the first, in case you’re wondering, was Diamanda Galas in a church somewhere in Canada). Her voice was amazing, and however good it sounds on disc, whatever effect it has, that’s nothing compared to the live experience. I’ll spare any more cliches, suffice it to say if you ever get the chance to see her, run don’t walk to it.

Monday, May 14: Morrissey at the Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor

Say what you will about Mozzer, but the man can put on a show. The set was a decent mix of new and old, peppered with some classic Smiths tracks (opening with “The Queen is Dead” is a recipe for success). The band was on, his voice was great, and he threw not one but two shirts into the crowd. For the most part, the idea of being fifteen again holds no appeal whatsoever, but in this case, it was perfect.

(For a real, properly written review, here is a recap of his performance in Milwaukee (and it even has a picture of Steven sans shirt). It features the exact same set list, so there you go.

(And you can see a photo from the show here, which is much better than one taken from a camera phone in front of the stage.

albums worth hearing

I promised at the start that there'd be reviews along with the playlists and video nonesense. I don't know if this counts, but here are a few things that have been getting me excited of late:

1) Arctic Monkeys (Favourite Worst Nightmare). To be honest, up until now I never understood what the fuss was all about, and to be honest I'm still not sure why the first album and EP got as big as they did, save for the Brits' love of hype. With the new album, however, the Arctics (or is it Monkeys?) have finally delivered the album their press has been promising. Tight, taut, loud, rude, and all aroud a good time. www.arcticmonkeys.com

2) The Pipettes (We Are the Pipettes). Pre-fab British girl group guitar pop. Melodies you'll be humming thirty seconds after hearing coupled with a sense of modern cheek and attitude that make it perfect summer music. Just in time, no? www.thepipettes.co.uk

3) The Icicles (Arrivals and Departures). Along a similar vein, a group from Grand Rapids, MI, who seem to know a thing or twelve about writing a good hook. Bubblegum in the best sense, sure to put a smile on even the most cynical listener's face (hi, how are you?). www.theicicles.com

4) Chris Randall (The Devil His Due). This has been one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises in a long while. Since the 90s, Randall has fronted the group Sister Machine Gun, who've been doing the guitar-based industrial thing long before (and after) it was cool to do so. On this, his solo ablum, he changes things up completely, and goes for a swampy blues/country/roots sound. Amazingly, he pulls it off well beyond reasonable expectation. Think of Tom Waits' rough edges with Nick Cave's sense of foreboding, and you're getting the picture. These songs were giving me chills the first time I listened. Get this now. www.chrisrandall.net

5) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Baby 81). This is the album we've been waiting for. Maybe the last couple of albums were them trying to throw off all the Jesus and Mary Chain comparisons, but it's good to see them come back to the rock camp. Cocksure and swaggering, this one delivers. www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com